Joining to learn...

Hello,

I am do NOT consider myself a baker. Rather, I am more of a BBQ/meat smoker type of guy, and not half bad at it, if I may say so myself.

I do enjoy making fresh pasta though, and that is almost my extent of dishes involving the use of flour. I do love dishes involving roux, including gravies, mac and cheese, and such.

My main purpose here is to learn to make my own corn bread recipe. That is..., not to just copy someone else's, but to understand the why and wherefore of what goes into what I am looking for out of a cornbread. That would be, fluffy, light and moist, with enough strength to hold up to slicing and then frying/toasting in a cast iron pan.

My goal is to cook it in a cast iron bundt pan (I have a well seasoned Lodge), cut the wedges, and then lightly fry/toast them on another CI skillet/pan. 

I typically have been using a boxed mix, but it is typically heavier & denser than I prefer, Also, there is no reason why I should not be able to learn the 'science of' cornbread, and how it may need to be altered based on what, if any, "add ins" are tossed into the bowl with it... such as corn, bacon, peppers, chesses, etc.

A secondary goal would be developing a sourdough starter and learning to bake a good sandwich bread from it, but that is not the main reason I am here.

Thanks for the site, and advice is welcomed.